A
Note on Science and NDE,By
Simon Berkovich, Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at the George
Washington University.*

Below
is an introductory discussion of more theoretical papers exploring the idea that
DNA information in living organisms is not complex enough to explain the
quantity and diversity of information processed in and by the organism as a
whole, and by the brain in particular.

The idea that Life and Mind processing of information involve activities beyond
ponder able matter flourished in the nineteenth century with the development of
the aether theory.In the widely
acclaimed book of 1873, "The Unseen Universe," Stewart and Tait wrote:

"We attempt to show
that we are absolutely driven by scientific principles to acknowledge the
existence of an Unseen Universe, and by scientific analogy to conclude that it
is full of life and intelligence - that it is in fact a spiritual universe and
not a dead one."

In the twentieth century, the paradigm shift of science has focused on
relativity, such that the idea of aether has been abandoned.However, relativity has two interpretations.The most commonly quoted is Einstein, who states that the absolute frame
of reference does not exist. Alternatively, according to Lorentz and Poincare,
the absolute frame of reference does exist but is undetectable[1]

.Although
this may seem like a scholastic exercise in distinguishing between something
that does not exist and something that exists but is undetectable.This is a pivotal point in the advancement of the knowledge about life.

For
physics, adhering to either of these interpretations is inconsequential. For
biology, on the other hand, there are large consequences depending on which view
of relativity is espoused - particularly regarding attributes of the
informational infrastructure of the physical world.

The
current scientific picture of the world hangs on the assumption that life is
merely a result of complex transformations of molecular structures. Under this
scientific assumption, many biological phenomena including the near death
experience should not exist.What is
missing, in this assumption, is that the functioning of living systems has
little to do with physics and chemistry.Primarily,
it is a problem of organization of information control.For instance, if a living system is governed by an information processing
mechanism, it must follow regular principles of organization of information -
particularly, when this stipulation relates to the brain.

Why
should a biological organism go along with the laws of physics and be exempt
from obeying the fundamental requirements of information processing?These requirements are unquestionable.But biological science usually avoids looking at informational processing
on an engineering level since the needs of information processing cannot be
satisfied by using conventional physics. In other words, the current scientific
paradigm for biological organisms can not sustain a routine engineering analysis
used by the methodology of information systems design.

Biological
information processing must comply with "the basic law of requisite
variety" which states that achieving of appropriate selection "is
absolutely dependent on the processing of at least that quantity of
information." Any biological work on information processing must respect
this law, "or be marked as futile even before it has been started."[2]

The
observed diversification regarding the biology of life and mind cannot account
for the physical limitations of brain structure.The amount of information in the human genome - about 30,000 genes - is
supposed to be the "blueprint" of human development.In the digital world, this amount of information would be hardly enough
to portray a blur digital picture of a living being.In comparison, worms have 18,000 genes.The human brain consists of a relatively small amount of very slow
switching elements.It is readily
apparent that the way genes are constructed, they simply cannot hold all the
information necessary to explain the human body.Consequently, using the analogy of the brain to an information processing
device, it is impossible to account for information in the vast array of
possibilities that the brain uses.The
situation is that "When you try to prove an obvious thing it becomes less
obvious." Cicero.

Organisms
are characterized by DNA, much like library books are characterized by catalogue
numbers.Therefore, the DNA can
contain a general description of the organism without having to contain detailed
instructions pertaining to structure and functionality.This means that DNA contains marker information.However, information on the way the body is built and how parts of the
body should function is contained elsewhere.

The
"barcode" interpretation of DNA furnishes a natural explanation for
two anomalies commonly known as paradox N and paradox C.Using the barcode analogy for paradox N, an organism can be built from an
information deficient genome.Moreover,
the barcode analogy addresses paradox C and explains why more complex organisms
have less complex genomes. (Plants have more DNA than animals!).The DNA molecules get control signals through communication, so shorter
structures acquire an operational edge.In simple words, DNA is a label name and to a certain extent a shorter
name is an advantage.Analogously,
the information processing capabilities of the brain do not depend on its size.

With
this as a background, the main point of http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0111093
explores the idea that the DNA information in living organisms is not a
repository of the control information for organism development.The DNA role as a "barcode" determines the biological
individuality of organisms and hence enables their functioning as elements of a
system - "the Internet of the physical Universe".

This
theory is consistent with information processing of consciousness which was
suggested by Pim
van
Lommel, in the major NDE study released in a prime British
medical journal, The Lancet 12/01.[3]Van Lommel's closing
discussion pertaining to NDEs leaves the possibility open that the brain is
merely a receiver and that memories are stored elsewhere.If the barcode theory holds and memory is stored elsewhere, then the way
we look at consciousness when separated from the body has someprofound implications on the way
society and religion is organized.

The
role the DNA structures in nature can be compared to the role of Social Security
Numbers in the society.(see also http://www.aps.org/meet/CENT99/vpr/laybc31-02.html
and http://www.aps.org/apsnews/0699/069905.html)From my extensive studies, I would suggest that the controlling role of
DNA on information for organism development and functionality of memory comes
from outside of the physical body.This
means that a different paradigm exists regarding the informational
infrastructure of the physical world.In
other words, the human brain is not a stand-alone computer but rather a terminal
at the "Internet of the physical Universe."

The
most difficult problem, from the standpoint of physics, is looking at how
memories are stored in the brain and is not likely to be "affected by the
discovery of the final theory."The
hidden meaning of this statement according to Weinberg, one of the world leading
physicists, is that the explanation of the brain organization would somehow come
independently of the development of modern physical theories.However, the logical conclusion should be that there is a flaw in the
foundations of physics as long as it does not account for the major phenomenon
of nature like that seen in workings of the human brain.

Modern
physics can only say that such an effect as NDE cannot exist.In other words, from the standpoint of modern physics NDE is regarded as
"anti-scientific."However,
it is evident that no progress in biology can be achieved without challenging
the very fundamental notions in the construction of the physical Universe.This is done in my paper: http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0111093.If the prediction of my theory - an
intrinsic anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) - is verified,
then the global picture of the physical world must be reconsidered.

At
any rate, modern physics runs into its own problems.This is especially true with the alleged discovery that 65% of the
universal consists of an enigmatic "dark energy."Dark energy represents an addition to 30% of a mysterious "dark
matter."Dark energy is merely
a fictitious parameter that is introduced to keep up with Einstein's theory of
general relativity. Physicists are not ready yet to admit that this theory can
be wrong.Thecosmological
model of the Universe based on Einstein's theory of general relativity would no
longer be a valid model.

My theoretical model shows that the Universe is filled with information
for the control of living beings rather than with useless (from the standpoint
of biology)"dark" matter
and "dark energy."The
model gives another meaning to these "dark" entities. The current view
on cosmology is lifeless, it can only hope that life should somehow pop up on
top of material processes.

Thus, a comprehensive theory of Life and Mind should contemplate
extra-corporeal organization of cognitive information processing featuring the
brain as a "network computer" on the "Internet" of the
physical Universe.The conventional
paradigm of modern science leaves no room for the rational explanation of NDE.With the suggested model of extra-corporeal organization of biological
information processing, the phenomenon of NDE can undergo a meaningful rational
scrutiny.

*Simon
is a Professor of Engineering and Applied Science in the Department of Computer
Science of the GeorgeWashingtonUniversity.He obtained a MS degree in Applied Physics from Moscow Physical Technical
Institute in 1960 and PhD degree in Computer Science from the Institute of
Precision Mechanics and Computer Technology in 1964, Moscow, Russia.To his credit, he has extensively published in peer reviewed scientific
literature in Physics, Biology, and Computer Science.His brings to the scientific community expertise in algorithms and
computer systems design.For many
years he has been involved in the investigation of informational aspects in the
organization of physical and biological systems.